Deltora Quest 2
by storyteller316
Summary: Lief and friends must journey into the Shadowlands in order to find new gems that can save the people that live there from the Shadow Lord. They will also be joined by a new ally who knows their way around the area.
1. Chapter 1: A good OL

A year has now passed since Lief and the others sent the Shadow Lord back to the Shadowlands, and right now, Lief is going through papers in his office.

"I can't believe how much there is to still do to help Deltora get back to normal," said Lief.

"Maybe you should take a break and go outside," said Sharn as she walked over to her son.

"I can't just leave all of this work," said Lief.

"Don't worry, I'm still queen so I should take and handle some of the work, you go and have some fun," said Sharn with a kind smile.

"Thanks mom," said Lief as he hugged her before running off. Out in the garden, Lief was sitting under a tree when Jasmine came up to him.

"Finally got some free time?" asked Jasmine as she took a seat next to him.

"I never knew being a king would involve so much paper work," said Lief.

"And it looks like you're still not finished," said Jasmine as she noticed Barda from across the garden. Later, in the throne room, Lief was standing before a young pink haired girl who was in chains.

"What's an OL doing out of the Shadowlands, you can't go far from the Shadow Lord's domain," said Lief.

"I came to give you something to help defeat him once and for all," said the OL.

"And why would one of his creatures to that?" asked Jarred.

"Because I'm not his creation, if you don't believe me then just look at my mark," said the girl as she moved her shirt's collar to reveal a grey and pin mark on her neck.

"That's a different mark than a normal OL's," said Barda.

"And the Emerald has not dulled its color," said Lief as he placed his hand on the belt.

"So, what do you think, Lief?" asked Jasmine.

"Take her restraints off and let's see what she has to say," said Lief as he looked at Jarred.

"But Lief," said Jarred.

"Just do it, Jarred," said Lief.

"Alright," said Jarred as he removed the chains.


	2. Chapter 2: The dagger of QUEST

As the OL stood before Lief, a guard handed him a bag they had confiscated from her when they found her.

"Inside my bag is a weapon known as 'The Dagger of QUEST'; just like your belt, it too has gems that go with it," said the OL.

"But you don't have them," said Barda as he looked at the silver dagger which had five holes on the handle.

"I'm afraid I could only escape with the dagger, the gems remain in the Shadowlands," said the OL.

"Before we continue this discussion, I would like to know your name," said Lief.

"I'm called Dara," said the OL.

"Well Dara, can you tell us a little bit about the gems that go with this dagger?" asked Lief.

"First is the Quartz, which creates light beams in the darkness and purifies any poisoned substance," said Dara.

"That could come in handy," said Barda.

"The Uvarovite is next, and it can lead you to someone you're looking for and dulls when one lies about evil intents," said Dara.

"That's like the Emerald," said Lief.

"Third is the Epidote, it strengthens the powers of other gems and destroys the darkness in someone that gets stabbed by a weapon with it," said Dara.

"Could have used that a while back," said Jasmine.

"The fourth is the Sapphire, the user of it can be granted visions in their sleep, and helps with their mental state," said Dara.

"And the last one is the Tiger Eye, which helps clear the mind and protects travelers from danger," said Dara.

"With them, we really could get rid of the Shadow Lord once and for all," said Barda.

"Do you know the locations of the stones?" asked Lief.

"I do," said Dara.

"What are you thinking, Lief?" asked Jasmine, who already had a filling what he was thinking.

"We're going after them," said Lief.

"But the belt can't leave Deltora, if it does the Shadow Lord will return," said Manus who had just arrived.

"He does have a point," said Barda.

"But it can, all you need is to cast the spell of travel on it," said Sharn as she walked in after Manus.

"What is the spell of travel?" asked Lief.

"I found it in an old book, apparently past kings used a spell to duplicate the powers of the belt and gems so they could travel to other lands," said Sharn.

"Alright, then get Fardeep here as soon as possible for the spell," said Lief.

"It's a good thing he came with us," said Manus as Fardeep walked into the room.

"Good to see all of you again," said Fardeep.


	3. Chapter 3: To the Shadowlands

The next day, Fardeep used the spell of travel on the belt and after wards, Lief, Barda, and Jasmine headed for the edge of the Shadowlands.

"Thanks for the ride, Steven," said Lief from the back of his wagon.

"No problem my friends, I owe you for helping me open a new store at the castle," said Steven.

"Well you did help us send the Shadow Lord packing," said Jasmine.

"That is true, and this is as far as I go," said Steven as the wagon stopped before some dark red fog.

"Thanks for the ride," said Dara as she and the others jumped out.

"You're welcome, and good luck on your new journey," said Steven before he left them while whistling .

"So, what all should we expect in there?" asked Barda.

"You can't expect a thing while in the Shadowlands, anything can kill you here," said Dara.

"Any clue at what the closest gem to us is?" asked Jasmine.

"That would be the Tiger Eye, which is in the Dark Cave, just a mile into the fog," said Dara.

"Alright, then that will be the one we go after first, and remember to stay on guard while in here," said Lief before they entered the Shadowlands.


	4. Chapter 4: The Dark Cave

A few minutes have passed since the group entered the Shadowlands, and they have already run into trouble.

"I can't believe how bad this place is," said Jasmin as she looked at the dead landscape around them, which was hard to see since the fog was so dark.

"It's so bad here that the Amethyst, Emerald, and Ruby are the palest I have ever seen," said Lief with a worried expression.

"How are we even going to find water and food here?" asked Barda as he looked at a dry river bed.

"All of this is because the Tiger Eye is sealed, after the Shadow Lord came he had his monsters seal the gems away so his darkness could spread, the air also became poisoned for things smaller than human like beings, that's why we aren't affected, but prolonged exposure can cause nausea," said Dara.

"Then we have to break the seals on the gems and restore this land fast," said Lief.

"What I want to know is who created the gems and the dagger in the first place," said Jasmine.

"All I know is that they were created here in the Shadowlands before the Shadow Lord or Deltora were around," said Dara.

"I can't even imagine how long ago that was," said Barda.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Jasmine as they noticed a giant mountain that was a few yards away.

"That's the mountain where the Dark Cave is," said Dara.

"So, this is where our first fight will be," said Lief as he noticed a light coming from a tunnel at the base of the mountain.


	5. Chapter 5: Guardian lizard

As the group walked down a dark and dry tunnel, a faint blue glow emerged from the end.

"I've been meaning to ask, but what is that light?" asked Lief.

"It's from these stone," said Dara as she pointed at some blue glowing rocks. She then walked up to some and pulled them off the cave wall.

"What are these?" asked Barda.

"I call them Glow Sapphires," said Dara.

"They are pretty cool," said Lief as he held one in his own hand.

"Guys, you might want to come and see this," said Jasmine who had walked down a side tunnel. When the others went down the tunnel, they came to find a cave of Glow Sapphires that was at least fifty-feet wide and seventy-feet tall.

"I have never seen this many of them in one location that are of this size," said Dara with a stunned expression.

"Hey, is that the Tiger Eye?" asked Kree as the crow looked at a yellow and brown gem that was encased in one of the Glow Sapphires on the ceiling.

"Did Kree just speak?!" asked a surprised Lief and Barda.

"I forgot to mention that the stones can make animals able to speak human languages," said Dara.

"But why can't we understand Filli?" asked Lief as the little fuzz ball tried to talk to them.

"Because he's not an animal but a monster," said Dara.

"What?!" asked the three humans with freaked expressions. As the echo of their voices bounced off the walls, a terrifying roar came back at them.

"Looks like we just found the gem's guardian," said Lief as he and the others slowly turned around. A giant lizard with Glow Sapphires covering its back then dropped down from the roof.

"Who woke me from my sleep?" asked the lizard with an attitude.


	6. Chapter 6: One gem down

"So, you're the boy who defeated the Shadow Lord in Deltora," said the lizard as he noticed the belt.

"That's right, and I'm going to defeat him here too," said Lief as he drew his sword.

"Then you'll die here, human," said the lizard as he went to stomp on them, but missed as they scattered.

"Lief, the Tiger Eye is in the big stone on this guy's back," said Barda.

"But how are we going to get it?" asked Lief who was worried for their safety. Both the Amethyst and Topaz then started to glow.

"Now that might just work," thought Lief as he looked at his team.

"Jasmine, throw some daggers at the crystal with the gem," said Lief.

"I hope you know what you're doing," said Jasmine as she started throwing dagger after dagger at the crystal, causing some to stick inside it.

"Barda, use that new weapon of yours," said Lief.

"Right," said Barda as he took a circular blade out of his pocket and threw it right at the big crystal, causing a large crack.

"What are you up to, human?" asked the lizard.

"Taking you down, Dara I need you to turn into a giant bird," said Lief. As Dara transformed, Lief jumped onto her back before flying into the air.

"Now for the finishing blow," said Lief as he jumped off Dara, stabbing his sword into the top of the crystal.

"Ha, what was that suppose to do?" asked the lizard.

"This!" said Lief as he twisted the blade inside the crystal, creating thousands of cracks throughout it.

"This can't be happening," said the lizard as the crystal shattered and Lief grabbed the gem.

"Whoa," said Lief as the lizard started to shrink.

"Lief, are you alright?" asked Jasmine as everyone ran up to him as he laid on the ground.

"Yeah, I just did not expect him to shrink," said Lief as he stood up.

"Kid, I thank you for breaking that spell that had been on me," said the lizard who was normal size for a lizard now.

"You're welcome, but I did not know there was a spell on you," said Lief.

"That's alright, and I better explain a little about the curse," said the lizard.


	7. Chapter 7: The curse

As the group stood before the lizard, he took and climbed a crystal to be at eye level with everyone.

"Alright, I should begin with my name, which is Lizard, and I am a member of the Lizard Tribe which has guarded the Tiger Eye for generations," said the lizard.

"What happened to your people?" asked Lief.

"After I was put under that spell, all my people were sealed away in the Shadow Lord's prison at his castle," said Lizard.

"Did that happen to everyone around here?" asked Barda.

"Yes, it did, now you must go, since the spell on me has broken, the gem's domain will return to normal, and the Shadow Lord will notice, it's lucky however that he will not be able to send his minions here thanks to the spell being broke," said Lizard.

"Will you come with us?" asked Lief.

"I'm afraid that I cannot, if I leave the reclaimed area, the curse will take me back under it's control," said Lizard.

"Then we will have to fix the rest of the land and free the prisoners on our own," said Jasmine.

"To do that, you will need the other four gems," said Lizard.

"The next one is the Quartz, which is in the Dark Lake, which is a few days from now" said Dara.

"Then we head there right now," said Lief. Meanwhile, in the Shadow Lord's throne room, a Grey Guard came running in.

"Your highness, those fools who sent you back here have taken the Tiger Eye," said the Grey Guard.

"Don't worry, I already know, and it's going as I thought it would," said the Shadow Lord's voice along with an evil laugh.


	8. Chapter 8: The Dark Lake

"I'm glad we were able to refill our water and food in the Tiger Eye's area," said Lief as they walked through a dead forest.

"But that was a day and a half ago, and we should be coming up on the lake," said Dara as they reached the edge of the trees, where they found a red lake.

"That water does not look good," said Jasmine with a worried expression.

"Because it's poisoned," said Lief as he looked at the Amethyst, which was almost completely black.

"Nothing can survive in there," said Barda. Just then, the water started to bubble as a giant eel moved out of the water.

"Looks something can live in there," said Lief with a worried expression.

"Yeah, the Quartz's guardian," said Dara as she noticed the gem in the creature's forehead. The eel then shot a purple goo at them from its mouth, but they got out of the goo's path in the nick of time.

"Ew, what is that stuff?" asked Jasmine. Suddenly, the ground under the substance started to melt away.

"It's a high-powered acid, one touch and we're dead," said Dara. The eel then started to fire acid at Leaf, who was now standing in front of a boulder.

"Whoa," said Leaf as he dodged the acid by jumping over another rock.

"That was close," said Leaf as he peaked around the rock, just in time to see the acid getting absorbed by the boulder. Watching this gave him an idea on how to beat the eel.


	9. Chapter 9: Aim for the Quartz

After Leaf saw what had happened to the boulder, he and the others hid behind it, giving them enough cover.

"What is your plan, Leaf?" asked Jasmine.

"Watch," said Leaf as he picked up a little rock, then chucked it at the eel, which screamed in pain as the rock absorbed some of the acid coating on its head.

"I get it, we take and use these rocks to absorb the acid on its body," said Kree who had a crystal necklace that Lizard had given him.

"But try and aim for the Quartz, so we can get it," said Leaf.

"You got it," said Jasmine as she picked up a rock before throwing it right beside the gem.

"Nice shot," said Barda as he threw a bigger rock.

"Hey Filli, I have an idea," said Dara. As Lief and the other two threw rocks at the eel, they heard a loud roar from behind them, and when they turned around, the three were shocked to see a giant rock monster.

"Dara?" asked Lief with a worried expression.

"Nope, its Filli, it's one of the powers he has, I just told him how to use it," said Dara as she walked out from behind the creature. Filli then jumped at the eel, landing on its head before ripping the gem from it.

"I can't believe that that's Filli," said Jasmine as Filli jumped back to them, landing in front of her. Suddenly, the area around them turned to a lush green land with a crystal-clear lake.

"Looks like we broke the spell here too," said Barda.

"That you did," said a tiny white eel, who was on a rock by the water.

"You must be the leader of this area," said Lief as he knelt beside the eel.

"That is correct, and I must thank you for breaking the evil spell that had been placed on me," said the eel as it turned into a woman with pale white skin, silver hair, and a long flowing white dress.

"We're glad that we could help, mam," said Jasmine who was surprised that the eel had turned into a human.

"You may call me Eela White, and as my thanks for breaking the spell, you may take the Quartz with you," said with woman.

"Thank you, Eela," said Lief as he placed the gem into the dagger.

"That makes us two for five, and the next gem is the Sapphire, which is in the city of Sapphronea, it should take us three days to get their," said Dara.

"Then we'll head out after refilling our water and food supplies," said Lief.

"I know where you can find some delicious apples," said Eela as she pointed to a nearby apple grove.

"Thank you," said Jasmine.


	10. Chapter 10: Sapphire OLs

Three days after Lief and the others saved the Quartz's territory, they had finally reached the city they were looking for.

"So, this is the city of Sapphronea," said Barda as they walked around the city, which was made of dark blue stones.

"It used to be a lot prettier," said Dara with a sad expression.

"It's also not empty," said Lief as he noticed an OL fly around a corner in the opposite direction.

"I don't get it, OLs have never lived in this area," said Dara as they hid behind some boxes from two more OLs.

"The Shadow Lord must have sent them to watch over the gem," said Jasmine.

"I think you're right," said Barda.

"Then make sure to stab their marks if they come at you," said Lief.

"That's going to be tougher than you think," said Dara as she noticed a suit of armor made of Sapphire heading towards them.

"Those are Sapphire OLs, we have to go now," said Dara as she ran off, followed by the others and the OL.

"What are Sapphire OLs?!" asked Lief as they continued to run.

"They're the strongest class of OLs, able to take control over any sapphire substance and make it into armor," said Dara.

"What about their marks?" asked Jasmine.

"It's hidden under the armor and hard to get to," said Dara as they turned a corner and found three Sapphire OLs waiting for them.

"Not good," said Barda as he looked bind them and found three more.

"Wait, use the Quartz," said Jasmine as she looked at Lief.

"Right," said Lief. He then pulled out the dagger, touching the gem as he did so to create a beam of light.

"Now that was smart," said Dara as she watched the beam destroy the OLs.

"Yes, it was," said a voice from above them. When the group looked up, they saw a man wearing Sapphire OL armor standing on the roof of one of the buildings

"Dar," said Dara with a terrified expression.

"Hello, little sister," said Dar with a wicked smile.


	11. Chapter 11: Dar, the guardian

As the group looked up at Dar, he jumped off the building to join them on the ground, which worried Dara even more.

"Why didn't you tell us you had a brother?!" asked Barda as he looked at Dara with a lot of rage.

"I thought he was dead," said Dara who was still terrified.

"I was about to die when the Shadow Lord gave me the power of darkness and our clan's gem," said Dar as he held up his right hand to reveal the Sapphire.

"The OLs are the Sapphire's clan?!" asked everyone at the same time.

"Surprises all around today; but now it's time to get rid of you," said Dar as he transformed into a giant lion.

"Move it!" said Barda as they ran for their lives.

"I'm not going to let you escape me," said Dar as he chased after them, barely squeezing through the allies.

"How are we going to stop him?!" asked Jasmine. Just then, Lief noticed that the Emerald had dulled in color.

"Did it dull since there's evil?" thought Lief as he checked the Ruby, which had not dulled in the least.

"Dara, did Dar break a vow?" asked Lief.

"The only vow he could have broken is the one to protect our people, he was supposed to be the leader of the army against the Shadow Lord" said Dara.

"That's it, the Sapphire armor is poisoning the OL's minds while in this area, meaning the Quartz healed the ones from earlier, not killed them," said Lief as he turned around, pointing the dagger at Dar. When the light shot from the dagger, it caused Dar to transform out of the lion form, then shattered the armor. In response, the whole area was taken out of the darkness, making the buildings a shiny blue as the sunlight reflected off of them.

"What, what happened?" asked Dar as he fell to his knees from exhaustion.

"You were taken over by an evil armor," said Lief as he walked over to him.

"I remember," said Dar as he started to cry. Several OLs then came flying over before turning into humans.

"Now what?" asked Barda.


	12. Chapter 12: The people's forgiveness

"Wait, they're not going to hurt us," said Lief as he noticed that Barda was going for his sword.

"I just remembered, the people of this town are OLs, I don't know why I forgot that," said Dara as she held a hand to her head as if she was in pain. A small OL then flew over to Dar before turning into a six-year-old girl.

"King Dar, are you alright?" asked the girl with a worried expression.

"Please go away, Mandy; I don't deserve to see you for what I did to your father," said Dar as he looked away.

"Now what was it that you did to me?" asked a big man in overalls as he walked up.

"I thought I killed you in your forge, old friend?" said Dar as he looked at him with a stunned expression.

"Your attack was barely near my mark, now stand up for your people," said the blacksmith.

"I would, but I don't deserve to, it's my fault that we were cursed," said Dar.

"What has happened was not your fault, the Shadow Lord is good at fooling people," said Lief.

"And how do you know what I deserve?!" asked Dar with anger in his voice and expression as he raced his head to look at Lief.

"Because I'm a king too, and if I was in your place and friends and people told me to get up, I would because I was being controlled," said Lief.

"So, you're a king too?" asked Dar as he stood up.

"Way to go, Lief," said Jasmine as she looked at him and smiled. Half an hour later, Dar was talking with Lief and the others in his castle.

"Thank you for allowing us to take the Sapphire with us," said Lief.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you, if it had not been for you I would have probably killed more people," said Dar.

"We're just glad we could help," said Jasmine.

"And now we had better start heading for the next gem, the Uvarovite won't rescue itself from the Beedra Castle," said Dara.

"Before you go, I thought you might need this," said Dar as he handed his sister a flute made of bone.

"The bug flute," said Dara as she looked at it.

"As you know, it can put all bugs to sleep in hearing range as long as it is played," said Dar.

"Thanks," said Dara with a smile.


	13. Chapter 13: Beedra Castle

After spending the night at Dar's castle, Lief and the gang left for the Beedra Castle, which took them nine days to reach.

"So, that's the Beedra Castle," said Jasmine as she and the others looked over a cliffside at a giant castle made from a bee hive.

"This is bringing back bad memories of the Shifting Sands and the Hive," said Lief.

"So, how long can you play that thing?" asked Barda as he looked at Dara who was holding the bug flute.

"I can play it as long as we need, I just need to stay still in one place long enough," said Dara as she sat under a nearby tree.

"Alright then, as soon as you start playing we will go down there," said Lief.

"You go it," said Dara before taking a deep breath and playing the flute. As the melody rang out toward the castle, Lief and the others made their way to the castle.

"Kree, you stay here and watch over Dara," said Jasmine.

"You got it," said Kree as he flew over to the tree. A few minutes later, the group reached the bottom of the cliff.

"Alright, I change my mind, this is worse than the Hive," said Lief as they took notice of the giant humanoid bees laying on the ground. The walls of the castle were causing an echo effect with the music from Dara.

"Let's find the gem fast so we can leave," said Barda.

"Then the queen's throne room would be the best place to start," said Jasmine. After making their way around the castle, the three had found the throne room.

"I knew that queen bees were big, but this is crazy," said Barda as they looked at the queen who had to be fifty-thousand pounds.

"What's even worse is the fact that her crown has the Uvarovite," said Lief as he pointed to the crown, which was fifty feet off the ground, on the queen's head.

"We have to be quiet," said Barda as they approached. Meanwhile, Kree was sitting on a branch right above Dara.

"This is really boring," said Kree as he moved a little, causing some dried fruit to fall on Dara's head, knocking her out.

"Not good," said Kree with a worried expression. Down in the throne room, the others heard the music stop.

"We're in a lot of trouble," said Lief as the queen woke up with a loud screech.


	14. Chapter 14: A fight and a vission

"Looks like we have some unwanted guests," said a guard as several ran into the room with spears.

"I think they're the ones that the Shadow Lord has been looking for," said another guard.

"Remember, no vital hits, it's not their fault this happened to them," said Lief as he drew his sword.

"We'll try," said Jasmine. A fight then started, but every time Lief and the others took one out, three more came in.

"There's to many of them," said Barda as he pushed one away.

"We need to forget about the drones and go for the queen," said Jasmine as she dodged two spears.

"But how?" asked Lief. Suddenly, the Lapis Lazuli and Opal started to glow. The room then turned grey as he noticed himself shoving some guards off him and throwing his sword at the crown.

"That might just work," said Lief as he placed his hand on the belt. He then woke up in time to block two swords.

"Are you alright, Lief?" asked Jasmine.

"I'm fine," said Lief as he pulled off the move from his vision, knocking the Uvarovite out of the crown.

"I got it!" said Barda as he caught the gem. Once the gem was in his hand, the guards stopped attacking and looked around with confused expression.

"What happened?" asked the queen as she held her head from being confused and dizzy.

"Looks like the spell broke," said Jasmine with a smile.

"You, you all saved us," said the queen as she looked at Lief and the others with a kind expression.

"That's why we're in the Shadow Lands," said Lief. A few minutes after saving the queen, the four came back to the cliff where they found Dara unconscious.

"Kree, what happened to her?!" asked Jasmine as they ran over.

"A fruit from this tree fell on her head and knocked her out," said Kree who was worried.

"Let's find a place to wait for her to wake up," said Lief.

"You got it," said Jasmine and Barda.


	15. Chapter 15: Please wake up

After a few hours of searching for a place to rest, the group found a cave to wait for Dara to wake up in.

"It's been two hours since we found her," said Jasmine with a worried expression.

"She's also starting a fever," said Barda as he placed his hand on her forehead.

"Good thing we're near a nice cool stream," said Lief as he walked in with a small bucket of water.

"I hope she gets better fast," said Kree who was worried for Dara.

"Don't worry Kree, it's not your fault," said Jasmine. Even Filli was trying to calm him down.

"To bad the gems can't help with this," said Lief as he looked at the belt. He then noticed there was a problem with the Amethyst.

"Wait, if this was an illness, the Amethyst would have changed color instead of dulling," said Lief.

"Which means the fruit must have poisoned her when it touched her skin," said Barda.

"In that case, the Emerald can help her," said Lief as he took the green gem from his belt and placed it in Dara's hand.

"Please let this work," said Jasmine as a green light pulsated across Dara's body.

"Wake up, Dara," said Kree as he started to cry, a few tear drops dropping onto Dara's forehead. The light then stopped as Dara opened her eyes.

"What happened?" asked Dara as she sat up.

"It worked," said Lief with a smile as Barda made Dara lay back down.

"What worked?" asked Dara with a confused expression. They then told her what had happened.

"I can't believe I was poisoned so easily," said Dara.

"We'll stay here for the night so you can rest up," said Lief.

"Good idea, because the Epidote is going to be the toughest gem for us to get," said Dara.

"Why is that?" asked Jasmine.

"Because the Shadow Lord is the guardian of it," said Dara.

"What?!" asked the others in surprise.


	16. Chapter 16: The curse's truth

As Dara sat taking a drink of water from her canteen, the others waited for her to explain about the Epidote.

"So, the final gem is with the Shadow Lord?" asked Lief.

"That is correct," said Dara as she put her canteen away.

"That makes him the leader of the Epidote's territory," said Barda.

"Actually, he's the king of the whole Shadowlands, which was called the Kingdom of Quest, before he became the Shadow Lord," said Dara.

"I think it's time you told us everything," said Jasmine as everyone looked at her with confused expressions.

"Then I'd better start with the fact that the Shadow Lord's true name is Dark Dragson, and that he was my boyfriend before he transformed," said Dara.

"You dated him?" asked a surprised Kree.

"Back then he was a kind man who helped his people with whatever they needed, but when his adopted son died, he went to a witch for help," said Dara.

"He wanted the witch to bring back his son?" asked Lief.

"Exactly, but the witch despised the king for his kindness and put a side effect for the spell, which made his son leave the kingdom when he learnt what his father had done," said Dara.

"And losing his son for a second time changed him," said Jasmine.

"Yes, and it is thanks to the dagger that the curse that transformed this land did not affect me, allowing me to wait for the one who would help bring the kingdom back," said Dara.

"What was the son's name?" asked Lief.

"Aiden," said Dara.

"The creator of the belt," said Barda.

"And the first king of Deltora," said Jasmine.

"Which makes the Shadow Lord a member of my family," said Lief who was even more shocked at this news than anything else he had heard.

"That's right," said Dara.

"Then I have even more of a reason to defeat the Shadow Lord," said Lief as he stood up.

"Then first thing tomorrow, we head to the Shadow Lord's castle," said Dara.


	17. Chapter 17: The Shadow Lord's true form

It took two weeks for Lief and the others to reach the Shadow Lord's castle, and they were standing a thirty yards away behind some rocks.

"So, what floor is the throne room?" asked Lief as he took a look at the large castle which looked to be ready to fall to pieces from old age.

"It's on the top floor of the middle tower," said Dara. She was pointing at one of three towers that stood taller than anything else around them.

"Alright, let's go," said Lief as he drew his sword. The six then approached the castle, which was in an open field, allowing them to notice dozens of Grey Guards waiting on them.

"Go open a path for us, Filli!" said Jasmine as she took the little creature and through him into the air. As Filli flew through the air, he transformed into a giant vine monster.

"Nice job, Filli," said Lief as they ran passed him, Filli was taking out the guards with tentacles made from the vines of this body.

"Wander what the next thing will be," said Jasmine as they ran through the courtyard. A big muscular Grey Guard then jumped off a balcony at them.

"He's a big one," said Lief.

"I'll take care of him, you guys go on ahead," said Barda as he held his sword out.

"You be careful, Barda," said Dara as they lift him behind.

"Let's see what you got, small fry," said the Grey Guard as he swung his sword. Meanwhile, the others had reached the inside of the middle tower.

"So, you got this far after all," said a woman's voice.

"Who's there?!" asked Lief as they looked around.

"My name is Farna and I'm one of the strongest witches ever," said a woman with green eyes and black hair as she walked out of the darkness.

"Are you related to Tagan?" asked Jasmine.

"She was my little sister," said Farna.

"Then you're going to be my opponent," said Jasmine as she took some daggers from her pockets.

"Are you sure, Jasmine?" asked Lief.

"Don't worry Lief, I'll be fine," said Jasmine with a smile. Both Lief and Dara then took off up the stairs and stopped when they reached a giant door.

"The Shadow Lord is on the other side of this door," said Dara. The next thing they knew, several OLs appeared in the room.

"I thought there would be a few of my people left in his control," said Dara as she turned into her true form.

"Here I go," said Lief as he opened the door, walking into a dimly lit room.

"Hello Lief, it's been a while," said a man who looked like an older version of him, but with black hair and red eyes, there was also a scar over his left eye that ran from his hairline to the bridge of his nose.

"So, this is the true form of the Shadow Lord," said Lief.


	18. Chapter 18: The power of the gems

As the Shadow Lord stood up from his throne, Lief readied for the coming fight by holding his sword out.

"I have to say that I did not expect to see you this soon," said the Shadow Lord as he approached Lief, allowing him to see the final gem hanging on a necklace that he was wearing.

"You do look a little surprised, Dark Dragson," said Lief.

"So, you know that name," said the Shadow Lord.

"Dara told me and the others about it, she's actually right outside those doors as we speak," said Lief.

"I figured she would survive the curse, but to think the one needed to help her was my descendent," said the Shadow Lord.

"I'm not going to run away like your son did though," said Lief.

"Don't you talk about him!" said the Shadow Lord as his right arm turned into a two-sided sword. The two then started to exchange blows with each other.

"You know, I think the real reason he left was to make the belt to help you," said Lief as they pushed their swords against each other.

"You don't know anything, and because of you, your friends are going to pay the price," said the Shadow Lord as he shoved Lief away. Some Grey Guards then walked into the room with everyone who were out cold.

"No!" said Lief as he layed on the ground from being shoved.

"Now it's time to say goodbye to your friends," said the Shadow Lord as he walked toward them.

"Leave them alone, this is between us!" said Lief as he stood up. A bright light then came from all the gems, including the one the Shadow Lord was wearing.

"What is this?!" asked the Shadow Lord as the light grew around them all. When Lief and the Shadow Lord opened their eyes, they found themselves on a bridge at night.

"What did you do?!" asked the Shadow Lord.

"I did not do this, the gems did," said Lief. The two then noticed a young man looking over the railing of the bridge just a few feet away.

"Son?" asked the Shadow Lord with a surprised expression.


	19. Chapter 19: Aiden's death

As Lief and the Shadow Lord stood on the bridge, Aiden started to speak to himself while the full moon shone down on him.

"I can't believe him, wanting his son's wish to be destroyed just to make me spend more time in the castle, learning to take over a kingdom that I don't even want," said Aiden.

"This is the day I told him to forget about owning a forge, as well as the day he was killed," said the Shadow Lord.

"Well I'm not going to take it anymore," said Aiden as he got onto the railing.

"It can't be, don't do it!" said the Shadow Lord, but Aiden could not hear him and jumped off the edge.

"He wasn't killed, he took his own life," said Lief with a stunned expression.

"And I brought him back to life with that witch's magic," said the Shadow Lord whose eyes were tearing up.

"Which made him run away to become a forge owner like his dream, but when he heard what had happened to you," said Lief.

"He made the belt and united Deltora so I could not hurt anyone there, like I hurt him and all my people," said the Shadow Lord. Suddenly, the Epidote floated over to Lief.

"And now it's time to get rid of the darkness in your heart," said Lie as he put the gem into the dagger.

"I'm ready," said the Shadow Lord as he turned around, letting Lief stab the dagger into his shoulder.


	20. Chapter 20: Hello, King Dark

As Lief stabbed the Shadow Lord, the two returned to the real world, where Barda and the others had woken up.

"Is it over?" asked Jasmine as they looked at Lief, who still had the dagger in the Shadow Lord's shoulder. Suddenly, a light shot out from him, streaming across the land, destroying the rest of the darkness, and returning the prisoners to where they belong. As the light faded, Lief pulled the dagger out, causing the Shadow Lord's hair to turn white and his eyes to green. The black robe that he had been wearing also turned white.

"Thank you, Lief, you saved my people," said Dark as he fell to his knees.

"Dark," said Dara as she ran up to him.

"Dara, I can't believe I almost killed you, after what happened, I don't think I deserve to be king of Quest anymore" said Dark as he looked at her with tears running down his cheeks.

"Sorry about this," said Lief as he took and punched Dark in the jaw without holding back.

"Lief, what did you do that for?!" asked Jasmine.

"Because he needs to realize that this was not his fault, the witch that gave him the curse is the one at fault; besides, what parent would not go through a risk to bring back their child if they had a way," said Lief.

"You're right, and I should not be here wallowing in my own sorrow, I need to go and apologize to my people," said Dark as he stood up.

"Good, now how about we get out of here," said Lief.

"Wait, do you hear that?" asked Barda as the sound of pounding came from the door. Suddenly, the door came crashing into the room.

"That's not possible," said Lief as he and the others saw dozens of Jalis tribe members standing before them.

"Where's the Shadow Lord?" asked a female Jalis.

"He was defeated before you all got here," said Lief.

"And who are you?" asked the woman.

"I'm the new king of Deltora, and I know a Jalis that would be glad to meet you," said Lief with a smile.


	21. Chapter 21: Lief's question

After defeating the Shadow Lord, Lief and the others returned to Deltora to prepare to unite the two lands after Dark made his peace with all the people of Quest.

"Lief, Dara and Dark have arrived," said Sharn as she walked into the room followed by the other two.

"It's been three years you two," said Lief as he got up to meet them. Meanwhile, other guests were arriving outside the castle.

"Barda, the Dread Gnome and Kin tribes have just been spotted," said a guard.

"I can see that," said Barda as he noticed the two tribes in the sky. After they landed, Barda went and greeted them.

"It has been a while, Barda," said Gla-Thon.

"You're right, and I heard that you're the new leader of the tribe," said Barda.

"Yeah, and it's tough work; I can just imagine what Lief must be going through," said Gla-Thon.

"Hey, Barda," said Prin as she ran up to them with another Kin child.

"Hi there Prin, who's your friend?" asked Barda.

"I'm Makaron," said the other Kin child who turned out to be a boy.

"These two have been spending a lot of time together lately," said Gla-Thon. The two Kin then begun to blush as they averted eye contact. Up on one of the ledges of the castle, Jasmine was looking up at the sky.

"I can't believe there's so many people here," said Jasmine.

"I thought I would find you here, you know that you're supposed to be getting ready," said Jarred as he walked up.

"Sure thing, dad," said Jasmine as she got up and walked away. Later that day, everyone was getting dressed.

"Hey, can we come in for a minute?" asked Manus from the other side of the door where Jasmine and some of the other girls were.

"Sure thing," said Gla-Thon.

"Hey, have any of you seen Lief?" asked Glock.

"No, we haven't," said Gla-Thon.

"Is something wrong?" asked Zeean.

"We haven't been able to find him, no one has," said Fardeep.

"Now that you mention it, Neridah has not been here for a while," said Dara as she looked around.

"Wait, those two came to me and bought an uncut ruby and diamond earlier," said Steven as he thought back.

"I wonder, could Lief be making something for her before they run off together?" asked Zeean.

"There's no way he would do that," said Jasmine as she stood up with some anger in her voice.

"Wait, I remember that I saw them both go into the chapel with the secret tunnel," said Manus.

"Then that's where we will go," said Jasmine. After they got to the chapel, Barda noticed that the tunnel had been used not too long ago.

"They could have gone anywhere from here," said Barda as they exited the tunnel at the edge of a forest.

"Hey, what are you all doing here?" asked Prin as she flew above them before landing.

"We're looking for Lief," said Gla-Thon.

"Apparently Neridah and he are running off together," said Glock.

"Lief would never do that, he loves Jasmine and she loves him," said Prin. Everyone was now staring at Prin with stunned expressions.

"What makes you think we love each other, I mean even if my heart pounds like crazy when I haven't seen him in a while, does not mean anything; besides, he's a king, he could have any girl that he wants," said Jasmine with a red and panicked expression.

"Uh, Jasmine," said Manus as he pointed to something behind her. When she turned around, Jasmine found Lief and Neridah behind her.

"How much of that did you hear?" asked Jasmine who was obviously worried.

"Enough, but just so you know, he does not want just any girl," said Neridah.

"Yeah, because he wants you, why else would you two go to buy those gems together, I bet he even made a ring from them," said Jasmine.

"I did, but for you," said Lief as he took a ring with a silver band and a small ruby as the center stone surrounded by diamonds and placed hit on Jasmine's finger.

"Lief," said Jasmine with a stunned look.

"Jasmine, will you be my wife?" asked Lief.

"Oh, you really are an idiot," said Jasmine before she kissed Lief, which surprised him and everyone else.

"Whoa, I did not see that coming," said everyone else at the same time.


	22. Epilogue

Fifteen years have now passed, and Lief and Jasmine are now the parents of twins, a boy and a girl. Their son's name is Endon and their daughter's name is Anna. Barda has also become Lief's royal guard and second adviser after Jasmine's father. Three years ago, Lief's mom had died from natural causes, which did cause some hard times for everyone, but they still move on, for the world will always have some evil in it that the light needs to banish.

The end.


End file.
